Effects of glycerin oil and lavender oil massages on hemodialysis patients� restless legs syndrome

Objectives: To determine the effects of glycerin oil and lavender oil massages on hemodialysis patients� restless legs syndrome (RLS). Methods: Ninety hemodialysis patients with RLS were randomly allocated into two intervention groups and one control group, each consisting of 35 participants. The control group received routine care, and the intervention groups received effleurage massage with lavender and glycerin oil in addition to routine care for one month. RLS intensity was measured among the three groups using the Restless Legs Syndrome Rating Scale. Results: At the beginning of the study, the results showed no significant difference among the three groups� scores. At the end of the study, the mean RLS scores were significantly lower in the intervention groups compared to the control group (F = 63.4, p � 0.001). This difference was not significant between the two intervention groups; nonetheless, the differences between the control and lavender oil groups, as well as the control and glycerin oil groups, were significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings showed the effectiveness of the oils through the effleurage massage for reducing RLS in a sample of hemodialysis patients. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

Continuous atom laser with Bose-Einstein condensates involving three-body interactions

We demonstrate, through numerical simulations, the emission of a coherent continuous matter wave of constant amplitude from a Bose-Einstein Condensate in a shallow optical dipole trap. The process is achieved by spatial control of the variations of the scattering length along the trapping axis, including elastic three body interactions due to dipole interactions. In our approach, the outcoupling mechanism are atomic interactions and thus, the trap remains unaltered. We calculate analytically the parameters for the experimental implementation of this CW atom laser.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Effects of glycerin oil and lavender oil massages on hemodialysis patients’ restless legs syndrome

Objectives: To determine the effects of glycerin oil and lavender oil massages on hemodialysis patients’ restless legs syndrome (RLS). Methods: Ninety hemodialysis patients with RLS were randomly allocated into two intervention groups and one control group, each consisting of 35 participants. The control group received routine care, and the intervention groups received effleurage massage with lavender and glycerin oil in addition to routine care for one month. RLS intensity was measured among the three groups using the Restless Legs Syndrome Rating Scale. Results: At the beginning of the study, the results showed no significant difference among the three groups’ scores. At the end of the study, the mean RLS scores were significantly lower in the intervention groups compared to the control group (F = 63.4, p ≤ 0.001). This difference was not significant between the two intervention groups; nonetheless, the differences between the control and lavender oil groups, as well as the control and glycerin oil groups, were significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings showed the effectiveness of the oils through the effleurage massage for reducing RLS in a sample of hemodialysis patients. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

Suitability and optimisation of analytical indoor shelter model used for infiltration of carbon dioxide for typical dwellings

Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) schemes involve transporting large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2). A release of CO2 from CCUS transportation infrastructure could cause severe consequences for the surrounding population if the risk is not appropriately managed. Following a release of CO2, people in the surrounding environment could move away and seek shelter. The CO2 plume could drift past buildings causing the concentration of CO2 inside these buildings to build up. How much CO2 accumulates inside the buildings is key to the safety of their occupants. Previously an analytical infiltration model, based on wind and buoyancy driven ventilation, and a CFD infiltration model were created which can be used to predict the effect of CO2 exposure on building occupants following a release from an onshore CO2 pipeline [1]. These models can be used to determine the consequences of failure the dispersion behaviour of CO2 and the infiltration rate of a plume of CO2 into buildings and can form part of a Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) process for a CO2 pipeline. The models were validated against an experimental test of CO2 infiltration into a small enclosure. Comparisons were made between the analytical model, CFD model and experimental data for the build-up of CO2 in the enclosure and the changes in internal temperature. This paper investigates the suitability of the analytical model for buildings geometries more closely resembling domestic abodes and against a wider range of conditions by comparing its results to those of the CFD model for a set of representative case studies. It also tunes the parameters used in the model. Thirty test cases were created which explore the key parameters affecting the CO2 ventilation rate: wind speed, the area and height of the openings, internal temperature and building height, width and length. The analytical model’s predictions of the accumulation of CO2 inside a building are shown to be extremely close to the CFD results for all cases except one, where it makes an over prediction of the level of CO2. Furthermore, it is recommended that the analytical infiltration model is used with the tuned set of coefficients identified in this paper

Active Galactic Nuclei under the scrutiny of CTA

Active Galactic Nuclei (hereafter AGN) produce powerful outflows which offer excellent conditions for efficient particle acceleration in internal and external shocks, turbulence, and magnetic reconnection events. The jets as well as particle accelerating regions close to the supermassive black holes (hereafter SMBH) at the intersection of plasma inflows and outflows, can produce readily detectable very high energy gamma-ray emission. As of now, more than 45 AGN including 41 blazars and 4 radiogalaxies have been detected by the present ground-based gamma-ray telescopes, which represents more than one third of the cosmic sources detected so far in the VHE gamma-ray regime. The future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) should boost the sample of AGN detected in the VHE range by about one order of magnitude, shedding new light on AGN population studies, and AGN classification and unification schemes. CTA will be a unique tool to scrutinize the extreme high-energy tail of accelerated particles in SMBH environments, to revisit the central engines and their associated relativistic jets, and to study the particle acceleration and emission mechanisms, particularly exploring the missing link between accretion physics, SMBH magnetospheres and jet formation. Monitoring of distant AGN will be an extremely rewarding observing program which will inform us about the inner workings and evolution of AGN. Furthermore these AGN are bright beacons of gamma-rays which will allow us to constrain the extragalactic infrared and optical backgrounds as well as the intergalactic magnetic field, and will enable tests of quantum gravity and other "exotic" phenomena.Comment: 28 pages, 23 figure

Measuring Sexual Performance: Development and Psychometric Properties of the Sexual Performance Questionnaire in Iranian People with Spinal Cord Injury

Sexual performance refers to activities served by sexual capacity and motivation. As a culturally sensitive issue, to date the scalar invariance of sexual performance has not been examined for Iranians with spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Aim: To develop and assess properties of an instrument evaluating sexual performance of an Iranian population with SCIs., in Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (BASIR), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Using multi-modal methods, we developed and assessed the Sexual Performance Questionnaire (SPQ). This included collecting expert opinions; engaging with patients with SCI referred to BASIR; pilot testing to assess the scale; and a formal investigation. Participants (men = 156, women = 58) completed the SPQ. Internal consistency and reliability were measured using Cronbach’s α coefficient. Content and face validity were examined by academic experts. Construct validity was assessed by examining convergent and discriminant validity. Finally, exploratory factor analysis was used to extract the factor structure of the questionnaire. The Cronbach’s α coefficient was 0.77. There was a significant (p = 0.04) correlation (r = − 0.23) between the SPQ score and age. Those with a partner scored higher (p = 0.001). We found three components: Spouse as initiator, self-initiation, and genital-oriented sex which accounted for 59 of the observed variance. The face and content validity was approved by an expert committee. The development and application of the 13-item SPQ provides a thorough understanding of sexual performance amongst persons with SCI. It facilitates the development of efficient sexual rehabilitation interventions and SCI-specific sexuality education programs. © 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

Social brain, social dysfunction and social withdrawal

The human social brain is complex. Current knowledge fails to define the neurobiological processes underlying social behaviour involving the (patho-) physiological mechanisms that link system-level phenomena to the multiple hierarchies of brain function. Unfortunately, such a high complexity may also be associated with a high susceptibility to several pathogenic interventions. Consistently, social deficits sometimes represent the first signs of a number of neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia (SCZ), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) which leads to a progressive social dysfunction. In the present review we summarize present knowledge linking neurobiological substrates sustaining social functioning, social dysfunction and social withdrawal in major psychiatric disorders. Interestingly, AD, SCZ, and MDD affect the social brain in similar ways. Thus, social dysfunction and its most evident clinical expression (i.e., social withdrawal) may represent an innovative transdiagnostic domain, with the potential of being an independent entity in terms of biological roots, with the perspective of targeted interventions